Friday, April 27, 2007

Welcome to the Police State, Assuming they Let You in

He is a Holocaust survivor, psychologist and respected academic. He'd been entering the United Stated five to six times a year on business and to visit his children, both of whom live in the USA.

"Why?" you may ask, "What did he do?"

He dropped Acid 30+ years ago. It was LEGAL at the time, and it was provided to him as part of government sponsored research. Not only that, but he wasn't even in the USA when he dropped acid.

And because of this he is now banned form entering the United Stated of America. He has the option of appealing the ban, but it would cost a minimum of $3,500 n legal fees for each visit, and even then, his lawyers say he'd only have a 90% chance of being granted entry.

Anyone who doesn't think we're living in a police state really needs to get their heads out of the sand. This IS a police state. Habeas corpus is history, we have people being "disappeared" without any rights, secret courts, torture and people being barred from entry for absurd reasons. Just because we aren't having Soviet style parades in the streets doesn't mean we're any less of a police state.

"I never thought I'd live to see the Magna Carta revoked." -Rep. Jerry Nadler, House Judiciary Committee